Introduction : reassessing the fate of postwar cities, politics and labor -- Beyond racial polarization : political complexity in the city and labor movement of the 1950s -- Optimism and crisis in the new liberal metropolis -- Driving desperation on the auto shop floor -- Citizens, politicians, and the escalating war for Detroit's civic future -- Workers, officials, and the escalating war for Detroit's labor future -- From battles on city streets to clashes in the courtroom -- From fights for union office to wildcats in the workplace -- Urban realignment and labor retrenchment : an end to Detroit's war at home -- Civic transformation and labor movement decline in postwar urban America